Doniella Davy, known as Donni, is the creative genius behind the makeup looks on Euphoria, and the inspiration for what is now known as #euphoriamakeup and #freemakeup trends.
According to HBO, Euphoria Season 2 episodes are now averaging 16.3 million viewers, which is the best performance for any season of an HBO series over the past 18 years, other than Game of Thrones, which pulled in an average of 46 million viewers across its eighth and final season in 2019.
Donni Davy comes with a background in photography (she has a BFA in Photography from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY).
Born and raised in Venice, CA, by two artists, she has inspired a whole generation of makeup artists and recreating Donni’s makeup looks has launched the careers of many famous TikTokers.
Half Magic Beauty, a new indie makeup brand, launched last month. The highly-anticipated launch is the #lovechild of Donni Davy and American independent entertainment company A24, the creators of Euphoria.
The first drop of products includes three eye products: matte liquid eyeshadows Chromaddiction Mattes; shimmer liquid eyeshadows Chromaaddiction Shimmers; and liquid eye glitters/liners Glitterpills. Eyes are the focus of most #euphorialooks.
There are also whipped velvety lip creams and lip liner sets Liptriks Kits, duo-chrome highlighters Light Traps; a liner brush Precision Eyeliner Brush, and stick-on Adornments including decals, face gems and face studs with a pair of tweezers. They also have an eyeliner guide tool Wing Magician Reusable Silicon Guide and a dewy setting spray Dew Lock.
They have a colour story of eight shades. Most of the main products are available in four shades of greens, blues, lavenders and coppers/pinks. These products are all about creating fast and easy colourful makeup looks as a way of creative self-expression.
The packaging is a bit a hippie/witchcraft inspired and fairly derivative.
Half Magic Beauty does have an innovative approach to sustainability. They have a mail-back program to help with recycling (most makeup packaging isn’t recycled as they are either too hard to clean or too small in size for recycling).
The brand founders are also behind the launch of the PACT Collective, a non-profit collective working to address the issue of recyclable packaging in the makeup industry.
All of the products are clinically tested to ensure that they are safe for the eyes. The products are also vegan and cruelty-free.
The standouts from the first launch are the Chromaaddiction Liquid Eyeshadows, especially the matte ones. Matte liquid eyeshadows are notoriously hard to formulate. The Chromaaddiction liquid eyeshadows are long-wearing and blendable – you can do an intense colour look or blend and mix with the other liquid eyeshadows.
Also of interest are the stick-on Face Studs which are silver and rose gold studs that look like face piercings.
Most of the products can be easily duped. The price point (US$15 to US$34 for a liquid eyeshadow) may be a bit high if they are targeting the average Euphoria fan.
The products are similar to About Face Beauty, which launched in 2020 and had a similar price point before recently dropping their prices.
However, the brand is certainly attracting attention with some bundle sets already sold out.
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